Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system communication, and more particularly to an information handling system network communication with a client through link aggregation.
Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems often communicate through networks to perform processing tasks. Generally, client information handling systems establish communication through a network to a server information handling system to retrieve and store information. Different types of networks support different types of communication at different data transfer rates. For example, a conventional client information handling system may communicate with a local area network (LAN) through a wired Ethernet communication, such as through a CAT 5 cable, through a USB or other serial cable, or through a variety of wireless communication protocols, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) or a wireless wide area network (WWAN). In a typical enterprise or residential network, client information handling systems access networks through access points, such as with wireless or Ethernet interfaces. The access points allow multiple clients to interface through the access points and with external networks, such as through an Internet router interface.
Typically, applications executing on a client information handling system use a single network interface to communicate with external networks. For example, an Internet browser executing on a client information handling system establishes a network interface through a WLAN and uses the WLAN for communication with the network. Although other types of network interfaces are available, such as an Ethernet LAN interface or a WWAN interface, the application relies upon only one network interface to communicate with an external network. Some applications are available that support multiple network interfaces, such as Killer DoubleShot used in gaming. Network traffic is divided by application so that a selected application, such as a game that uses network communication, has all of the bandwidth of one network interface available, such as an Ethernet interface, while other applications share a separate network interface, such as a WLAN. Such applications effectively increase network bandwidth at a client information handling system by allowing simultaneous connections over multiple links. However, total available network bandwidth remains divided where each application has only one link through one network interface.
Although client information handling systems primarily rely upon access points to establish network communication, other less direct network interfaces are often available. For example, peer-to-peer network interfaces established directly between two client information handling systems can provide an indirect network interface. For instance, a client information handling system that is out of range of a wireless access point (WAP) can interface with the WAP through a peer-to-peer interface with another client information handling system that has an interface with the WAP. Similarly, mesh networks provide indirect interfaces through multiple client information handling systems to support a client information handling system communication with a destination, such as a WAP. Although mesh networks tend to involve multiple transfers between client information handling system, in certain circumstances a mesh network interface can provide substantial bandwidth. For example, a 60 GHz network interface tends to have a short range but with a relatively large bandwidth, such as 14 Gbps with a WiGiG 802.11ad link. A difficulty with the use of such peer-to-peer and mesh network interfaces is that the interface is generally not as reliable where a client along the communication link may prioritize its network needs ahead of other clients, or may simply go out of range, thus breaking the interface. Thus, indirect network interfaces tend to lack quality control and predictable bandwidth so that use of an indirect network interface as an only interface is generally not appropriate for applications that need reliable network service.
Another difficulty that arises with the use of indirect network interfaces is that such interfaces tend to rely upon wireless communications using radios. A client information handling system typically includes multiple radios that support multiple wireless interfaces. For example, WWAN radios communicate over cellular networks, WLAN radios communicate over 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands, and short range high bandwidth WiGiG radios communicate over a 60 GHz frequency band. In enterprise environments where large numbers of information handling systems operate, wireless frequencies can become congested with traffic so that a wireless interface has difficulty finding an open channel on which to communicate. Wireless congestion can lead to communication performance inconsistencies and poor reliability as traffic across enterprise wireless bands varies. Also, network communication through radios is subject to restrictions related to the specific absorption of wireless signals into end users of a client information handling system. Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) requirements, restrict the amount of radiation from a wireless device that can be absorbed by a human body. Although a wireless network interface available at a client information handling system may offer greater bandwidth than other options, the actual bandwidth is sometimes restricted by SAR requirements so that the interface with the greatest bandwidth may not in fact provide the greatest bandwidth where a radio used for a wireless network interface has to reduced power statically or dynamically in response to use cases. Reduced transmit power tends to reduce range and throughput so that data rate and quality of service in the wireless network tend to suffer.